Distance or accuracy. Forgiveness or
exceptional feel. Over the years, golfers would
figure out what they need more of and play a
set of irons - blade or cavity back - that would
prioritize one element over the other. Things
aren’t so clear cut anymore, and frankly, that’s
a good thing.

Callaway’s line of XR irons are clearly
intended to help golfers hit the ball farther with
better contact, but they aren’t designed to look
like the traditional, oversized game
improvement clubs we used to see a few years
back. Considering the small iron chassis and
the relatively narrow sole widths they had to
work with, the amount of technologies Callaway
packed into these clubs to make them long and
forgiving is no small accomplishment.

Borrowing from tech that first appeared in
the company’s fairway woods and drivers, the
XR
irons use Callaway’s Cup 360 and Internal
Standing Wave to allow the face to flex at
impact and increase ball speed for added
distance.

Both the XR and XR Pro irons are made
from a two-piece cavity-back construction
that’s been dual heat treated ensure a precise
look and feel. The 360 face cup is a single piece
of thin metal that wraps around the perimeter
and acts like a spring on shots hit low on the
face and pretty much anywhere else contact is
made. Both sets of irons also benefit from
Callaway’s Internal Standing Wave - a thin,
metal weight pad that lowers the center of
gravity while increasing the club’s MOI.

It’s worth noting that Callaway debuted
both the face cups and Internal Standing Wave
in their Big Bertha irons earlier
this year. The biggest difference between those
clubs and the XR irons is without a doubt the
size. The Big Berthas are designed to help high
handicappers almost exclusively. They feature
thick top lines, massive soles and generous
offsets. Contrast that with the more compact
and visually appealing XR irons. Mid-
handicappers will definitely consider playing
them, but so will some single digit players who
require a little more forgiveness than what their
existing set of long irons are able to offer them.

Performance:

When swinging the XR irons, you get the
immediate sense of easy distance with these
clubs. They’re very lively at impact, practically
“whippy”, and the slightly larger head shapes
(compared to Callaway’s Apex irons for
instance) instill plenty of confidence.

The
Internal Standing Wave pad lowers the CG
while raising the club's MOI

As far as the design of these distance
irons go, the long irons in both sets have larger
head shapes that naturally taper down as you
move into the scoring clubs which de-
emphasize distance (at least slightly) in favor
of accuracy.

While the technology plays a big role in
explaining the distance gains, golfers need to
be aware that the lofts on the XR and XR Pro
irons are generally stronger than sets geared
exclusively for single-digit players. This is the
case throughout the bag but the most
significant changes in loft occur in the long
irons. For instance, my current five iron has 27
degrees of loft as compared to 23 degrees on
the same club in the XR, and 24 degrees in the
XR Pro.

The fact that Callaway skews the lofts
shouldn’t matter, especially in regards to the
numbers you post on your scorecard. I think
any uproar over stronger lofts pipes down the
moment a golfer strides up confidently to their
ball on a long approach and reaches for a six
iron as opposed to something up to two clubs
longer.

Be that as it may, the design of these
irons combined with stronger lofts does affect
the flight characteristics of your shots namely
the launch angle, spin rate, carry distance and
height. I used a seven iron from both sets of
clubs to get some comparative data on a
Foresight launch monitor. Not surprisingly, the
XR Pro launched slightly higher, sustained a
greater peak height, spun more and carried a
couple of yards less than the regular XR model.

Aside from the fact that the numbers
reveal that the playing characteristics differ
slightly between models, I didn’t get the sense
that one iron set was better than the other.
Both sets of clubs are really easy to swing and
have just enough workability to suit all but the
most accomplished players.

XR 7 iron

XR Pro 7 iron

Club Head Speed

72 mph

71 mph

Ball Speed

105.3 mph

104.1 mph

Launch Angle

18.0 degrees

18.6 degrees

Total Spin

5178 RPM

5430 RPM

Carry Distance

150.22 yards

147.11 yards

Total Distance

165.94 yards

162.18 yards

Peak Height

25.95 yards

26.14 yards

Look and Feel:

Sometimes you pick up a game
improvement iron and your first impulse is to
put it back where you found it. They’re big,
they’re bulky and often times they look very
uninspiring.

As I hinted earlier, Callaway did a bang up
job making the XR irons look like a top shelf set
better players will find appealing. The cavity
backs on these babies is pretty modest; so is
the badge design. Both sets feature relatively
narrow sole widths. Compared to the XR, the
Pro models have a slighter thinner top line and
less offset when looking down at them at
address.

The XR
Pro iron (right) has less offset and
narrower sole width

When making contact with the ball, both
sets of irons sound pretty good - less hallow
than I expected from a cavity back. In terms of
feel, they can’t compare to Callaway’s Apex
line, especially the muscle back iron I had a
chance to fool around with. A club like that
feels too good to describe when you make pin-
point contact on the center of the face. But
when you don’t, look out.

The XR irons on the other hand, will
maintain that solidly-struck-shot feel no matter
where on the face contact is made. Sure, you
lose some of that enhanced feel and workability
that comes from swinging a muscle back, but
that’s the price you pay for the high level of
forgiveness that these irons offer. Given all that
you gain in terms of performance, the cost
doesn’t seem all that high to me.

Takeaway:

When it comes to game improvement
irons, I really think Callaway has nailed it with
the XR and XR Pro irons. For a set of distance
clubs aimed directly at mid-to-high
handicappers, the XR line doesn’t skimp on
quality, good looks and playability.

Some players will do better with the
standard XR model. Other golfers, those who
are little more accomplished, will seek out the
more compact XR Pros. Either way, Callaway
has developed a set of irons that satisfy the
needs of most golfers in an attractive package
that no one can claim is designed for Joe
Average.